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29 April 2026

Tag: academies

GCSE results 2021: Top grades rise most at private and free schools

Private and free schools have seen the biggest jump in top grades in this year’s teacher-assessed GCSE results, figures show. Across England, the proportion of GCSE results overall at grade 7 and above—equivalent to a grade A under the previous system—rose to 28.7 per cent, up from 25.9 per cent last year and 20.7 per […]

A-level results 2021: Private schools see bigger jump in top grades

Private schools have seen a bigger jump in the number of top grades than state schools in this year’s A-level results, according to Ofqual. Labour said the figures showed the Conservatives had “opened the door to unfairness”, noting private schools appear more likely to give prior access to questions and face parental pressure over grades. […]

RSC adviser roles thrown open to CEOs, with elections set for September

Academy trust chief executives without headship experience can now serve as advisors to regional schools commissioners, the government has confirmed as it prepares for fresh elections for the posts. Official documents seen by Schools Week show the board elections will begin in September, after planned polls last year were shelved because of Covid. The government wants […]

Bailed-out academy boss set for £150k payout, despite £1.1m budget hole

A single academy trust facing closure has set aside a £150,000 payout for its chief executive, despite reporting a £1.1 million budget black hole last year and needing two taxpayer bailouts. The Castle Trust is set to be wound up after it was stripped of Delce Academy in Kent last year following an “inadequate” rating. […]

Williamson’s ‘irrational’ refusal to revoke academy order quashed by High Court

The education secretary’s refusal to revoke an academy order for a primary school in the West Midlands has been ruled “irrational” and quashed by the High Court. Governors of Yew Tree Primary School in Sandwell brought a judicial review of a decision by education secretary Gavin Williamson to refuse to revoke the order imposed on […]

Academy transfers fall to four-year low during pandemic

 The government has spent £38.8 million moving academies between trusts since 2014, official figures show, but transfers fell to a four-year low during the Covid-19 pandemic. Analysis of new Department for Education data shows a significant drop in academies switching trusts over the past financial year, with both voluntary transfers and forced rebrokering drying up […]

School repairs derailed by ‘inexplicable’ CIF delays and material shortages

Schools have been forced to delay building repairs by up to a year after the government awarded condition improvement funding almost two months later than usual. Some of the 1,199 schools which received CIF awards last month face an anxious wait to hear if contractors and the DfE will agree to defer projects no longer […]

REAch2 Academy Trust boss Sir Steve Lancashire to stand down in 2022

Sir Steve Lancashire, the founder and chief executive of the REAch2 Academy Trust, is to step down next year. The trust’s board announced today that Lancashire, who has run the 60-school chain since its foundation in 2012, will step down as CEO from September next year. REAch2 is the largest primary academy trust in the […]